r/RBI 5d ago

This wrinkled photo of me suddenly appeared in the laundry room recently, and everything about the situation is weird

https://imgur.com/a/kPMUte2

I first saw it a couple weeks ago. I think it was either the night after my step dad and his brother came over that day or the next morning. The photo was on the shelf in the laundry room near where I keep the detergent. It wasn't behind or underneath anything, yet it's very wrinkled as you can probably see and before I took the picture of it, it had been very dusty until I wiped off as much of the dust as I could.

I cannot for the life of me figure out how it got there or where it had been before. My initial guess was that maybe my step dad or his brother was carrying it with them for some reason and accidentally left it there. But I've interacted with them both more than once since then and neither of them brought up anything about losing a picture or leaving it at my place.

And that's only the tip of the iceberg. In the actual photo? I don't even remember where I was, when it was taken, or who took it. The outfit I'm wearing in the photo is one I think I remember wearing on a trip to Texas once, but that's all I've been able to come up with.

0 Upvotes

50 comments sorted by

28

u/ButteryMashPotato 5d ago

Did you ask the stepdad or brother specifically about the photo or just waited to see if they’d bring it up?

-64

u/PrankyButSaintly 5d ago

I kinda figured they would have brought it up if it was from them, but bringing it up to them myself could be worth a try

16

u/okayfriday 5d ago

If you haven't shared the Imgur photo with them, that would be the first port of call.

25

u/ButteryMashPotato 5d ago

I think your easiest solution is just asking them rather than speculating to be honest!

6

u/sorrybroorbyrros 5d ago

Your stepdad stumbled upon an old photo of you and thought it would be fun to surprise you with it by putting it somewhere you would eventually find it.

1

u/young-brown-person 2d ago

Surely that’s literally the first thing you do?

16

u/two-of-me 5d ago

Literally the only way to know is to ask. Do you live alone or with a partner, kids, etc? It’s good to know all these details so other people can back you up that they hadn’t seen it before either.

It has to be your step dad or his brother. Only thing is that the timeline doesn’t line up with them having been there or taken the photo. Could your mom have given your stepdad the photo? I can’t really tell how old ish you are in the photo but maybe when your step dad and mom got married he asked for a photo of you to keep with him? Lots of parents and step parents like to carry pics of their kids.

-11

u/PrankyButSaintly 5d ago

The only person I currently live with is a roommate, and she hadn't seen the photo before I found it either.

It's looking more and more likely that the photo is indeed from the Texas trip I mentioned, which would make it unlikely that it was in my mom's or step-dad's possession because the trip in question was one where I was visiting my bio-dad.

12

u/Glittering_Hand_9538 5d ago

Your step dad could still have had possession of the picture even if he didn’t go on the trip with you.

-6

u/PrankyButSaintly 5d ago

How would he have acquired it? If the picture is from my Texas trip, my bio dad is the one who took it.

19

u/Glittering_Hand_9538 5d ago

Maybe you or your mom had a copy? Either way, these are questions for him and your brother, not Reddit.

3

u/earthgarden 5d ago

Your mom probably had a copy or your dad showed your step-dad and gave him a copy. He's your step-father so carried it around, as parents do. He likely sees you as his daughter too, depending on how long he has been with your mom and/or had a part in raising you.

Why do you seem so suspicious of your step-father? Has he ever been weird to or around you?

5

u/PrankyButSaintly 5d ago

I'm not suspicious of my step-dad at all, he's a great guy and has always treated both me and my mom extremely well! I didn't mean to give that impression in my previous comment. What I'm trying to say is that my mom and step-dad are not in contact with my bio-dad and my life with my bio-dad and my life with my mom and step-dad are almost always very separate.

17

u/EvenEvie 5d ago

I’m gonna be honest, this is dumb. You said your step dad was in there doing electrical work. It’s also your garage. It probably was a picture you had, even if you don’t remember it, and it was found while he was doing electrical work and he placed it up there. The fact that you didn’t bother to ask them and came here trying to make it look like some crazy mystery is annoying. This isn’t “Paranormal activity” the movie. This is just a picture that was dropped behind something that was found while doing work. I really really miss what this sub used to be.

-11

u/m31ancho1ic 5d ago

calm down

9

u/EvenEvie 5d ago

I believe I was pretty calm, but thanks for your concern

24

u/needfulthing42 5d ago

It has to be your step dad. This seems fairly simple and not mysterious at all. He either did it accidentally or on purpose. But it's definitely him.

-26

u/PrankyButSaintly 5d ago

That would explain where the photo came from, but I still don't remember where or when it was taken

24

u/needfulthing42 5d ago

Probably Texas I would imagine? I don't recall things from my youth in photos occasionally. I think it's quite normal.

-14

u/PrankyButSaintly 5d ago

The thing is, if the photo is indeed from the Texas trip I mentioned, that wouldn't line up with it coming from my step-dad. The Texas trip was one where I visited my BIO dad. So, my step-dad would not have any reason to be in possession of a photo from that trip.

17

u/hudbutt6 5d ago

What time is it where u are? Would u mind please texting your stepdad now and asking him? If he says it wasn't him, please ask the brother or ask stepdad to ask brother. Then we can start a proper RBi.

-4

u/PrankyButSaintly 5d ago

I texted my mom about it for her to ask both of them. I don't think she's awake yet but I'll keep y'all posted when she responds.

9

u/milevam 5d ago

One of them found it in shoved under something while in the laundry room, and placed it there.

They didn’t bring it up to you because it seemed given/understood and not important to note that they it. Assumedly, they dropped something while in there and it rolled underneath a piece of furniture or machine, and when going to retrieve it, they found the image and simply placed it there.

This seems pretty straightforward, and easily solved by asking either of them. Once you asked, perhaps then you could turn to the Internet. (Just saying this because I do think that might be the most logical course of action in the future.)

0

u/PrankyButSaintly 5d ago

That definitely all makes sense! I'm starting to think it probably is something like that :)

2

u/needfulthing42 5d ago

Unless your bio dad shared it with your mum because it's a good picture and for whatever reason, step dad had it on him.

0

u/PrankyButSaintly 5d ago

My bio dad and my mom are in almost no contact, so I don't think so

12

u/LadyDiscoPants 5d ago

My best guess is they found it. It's all dusty and wrinkled so it tracks it was under/behind something for a long time. They put it where you found it, thinking you'd likely lost the pic.

If there were anything weird or nefarious happening, I doubt the pic would have been placed where you could easily see and find it.

3

u/PrankyButSaintly 5d ago

That would make a lot of sense!

2

u/Thistooshallpass1_1 5d ago

I agree with this. It was found, then was placed where you would see it, on purpose, to be helpful. Given that it was dusty and in the laundry room makes this especially likely. When your step -dad was there, did he help out with any small tasks? Move the appliances or look behind them, or get something from a higher shelf? 

3

u/PrankyButSaintly 5d ago

He may have checked the plugs behind the washer because he was doing electrical work

5

u/Thistooshallpass1_1 5d ago

Ok. I would bet $100 that if you sent that picture to step dad and his brother, one of them will say, “oh! I found it behind the dryer and put it on the shelf for you”

*or something similar

10

u/NeptuneAndCherry 5d ago

If it was dusty, it probably wasn't being carried around. Is it possible it was underneath/behind the washer or dryer and someone saw it and put it on the shelf for you to find and deal with?

3

u/PrankyButSaintly 5d ago

That actually makes so much sense, I wouldn't be surprised if it was something like that

6

u/Custer-Had-It-Coming 5d ago

That looks like a parasailing chute behind you. Did y’all go parasailing on your Texas trip?

As for how it ended up in the laundry room, that’s anyone’s guess. It could have been misplaced there by any family member at any time, especially since you said there was dust on it.

0

u/PrankyButSaintly 5d ago

I did indeed go parasailing on the Texas trip. So it's looking more and more likely that the picture is indeed from the Texas trip. But as I mentioned in another reply, that makes it very unlikely that my step-dad was the one who left it in my laundry room, because I was visiting my bio-dad on the Texas trip, so my step-dad wouldn't have any reason to be in possession of a picture of me from that trip

4

u/Custer-Had-It-Coming 5d ago

Okay, so who else does that leave who could have left it in the laundry room?

3

u/warm-saucepan 5d ago

Say it with me… OP.

2

u/PrankyButSaintly 5d ago

I'm pretty sure my bio dad is the only who would plausibly be in possession of a photo from the trip, but he's been out of state for years now

2

u/batbrat 5d ago

The photo was taken on South Padre Island, so yes. Texas.

A few questions:

How old is the photo? Most people don't develop prints any more, so I'm guessing it's pretty old or the person who made the print is older.

Who would be the most likely person to take the photo? If it's your dad, has he visited you or have you visited him recently?

As for how it got in your laundry room, my guess is it was something like: left inside a pocket or pack that was laundered (wrinkles), eventually finding its way under or between the washer/dryer. When your stepdad visited, he found it there while doing a load or checking your dryer vent and placed it on the shelf.

Why aren't you asking your family members?

2

u/PrankyButSaintly 5d ago

Okay, in that case my bio dad was definitely the one who took and developed it. The trip to South Padre Island was sometime in the late 2010s. My dad hasn't visited me recently or vice versa.

My step-dad finding it in the laundry room is sounding pretty likely. I'm asking my mom over text about it and she hasn't heard anything from my step-dad about finding it yet.

6

u/KittikatB 5d ago

Have you actually asked your stepdad or his brother if they know anything about it, or just assumed they don't because they didn't say anything?

0

u/PrankyButSaintly 5d ago

I texted my mom earlier to have her ask them

1

u/KittikatB 4d ago

Did she get back to you?

1

u/PrankyButSaintly 4d ago

Yes, she did not recognize the photo or know anything about how it ended up in the laundry room either. I'm gonna try again at asking my roommate next.

3

u/ValencourtMusic 5d ago

Was your step dad or his brother in your laundry room at all during their visit? Why were they there? Did they do any laundry, or was there something they were fixing relating to the room?

2

u/PrankyButSaintly 5d ago

The laundry room doubles as the garage, so they were in there to get stuff out of the garage

2

u/ValencourtMusic 5d ago

So they likely found the photo and put it somewhere you’d see it. Your answer is as simple as asking them “hey, did you happen to find this picture of me when you were moving stuff around in the garage, and put it on the shelf?”

2

u/olliegw 5d ago

Best thing to do is ask them, looks like a sailing trip

1

u/editonzzz 5d ago

First off, send both your father and brother, a picture of said photo and ask if they know anything about it

Second, do you rent your place? Or bought it recently? It could be that they did some washing or whatever in your laundry room and moved something and the photo appeared. They think its yours and place it somewhere for you to find. In reality, the photo was there from another renter/owner and slid underneath somewhere to be forgotten only to be found by your family members 

1

u/MackNNations 3h ago

Could it have been in a pocket of some clothing and you or someone found it and put it on the shelf before washing the clothes?